STAINED GLASS WINDOW—Terrell

While several men wanted photos of their old neighborhoods, some wanted to find out what was still standing, having been away for decades. Terrell wanted pictures of 53rd and State through 43rd and State, where the Chicago public housing project Robert Taylor Homes once stood. Demolished in 2007, the project was comprised of 28 high-rise buildings stretching for two miles. Photographer Greg Ruffing took five photos to fill the request: an empty lot with the old foundation still visible, new condos, a community garden, and this image of a stained glass window behind a rusty screen. Knowing the conditions of isolation that Terrell experienced, Ruffing said he looked for sensory details in composing the images: “the orange glow of warm sunlight, the sensation of brisk morning air, the way the city radiates color in the dusk and dawn hours.”